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NEP Manifesto 2016.Pub Come and join us Let’s help North East England win Manifesto 2016 Why can’t we be treated just like Scotland? Why can’t the people of North East England have one of the ‘most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world’? Why shouldn’t the North East equally enjoy high rates of UK Government funding? Just over our border, our closest neighbours, our fellow UK citizens, already benefit from a democratically elected, devolved government which has power to run its own education, health and social care services and a great deal more. The Scottish Government can plan, invest, redevelop its economy and decide its own priorities leaving only a few functions – defence, foreign policy, immigration, in the hands of the UK. With generous public finances the school children of Coldstream, Jedburgh, Dunbar are able to look forward to free Higher Education, older people in need of long term care do not have to make any financial contribution and prescriptions are free. Literally, one step to the south, if the public finances of North East England were governed by the same formula we would have more than £1billion per annum extra to spend in our region. Instead, our public services are already being decimated and are about to be utterly shredded through the removal of Government financial support and the requirement that this, the poorest, most highly Council Taxed region in England makes up the deficit through further tax rises and by taking responsibility for raising income from business rates. The grotesque unfairness of this developing situation is further emphasised by the collusion of Labour Council leaders, Labour and Conservative MPs and a few members of the North East business elite in a form of ‘devolution’ which is nothing of the sort and would be treated with derisive contempt in Edinburgh, Cardiff, or Belfast. For the sake of a few powers returned to local government, for a smear of jam today, which will have to be returned tomorrow we are to have our region divided in two, the imposition of two unelected combined authorities and the chance to vote for two mayors which no-one ever requested. This is the only region in England which has ever had the chance to vote for devolution. The people of North East England overwhelmingly rejected a puny offer in 2004 and a dozen years later without another referendum we are having another second rate version imposed upon us. At the same time we are told that we can be part of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’; we can have our decisions made in Manchester rather than London and in order to help us there’ll be a better branch railway connecting Newcastle to the interconnected cities of the M62 corridor – Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. Our would-be Emperors have no clothes. Too frightened of us to allow a real vote, they are surrendering our region to a future in which the North East will forever be the least of England - fewest jobs, worst poverty, our greatest export our young people, because ‘there’s nothing for us here. Scotland has made such progress on devolution thanks to the challenge posed by Scotland’s own political party. Scotland is not about to enjoy ‘one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world’ because we have a benign, kindly government or even as a result of some cronies’ alliance between Council leaders, George Osborne and business people playing politics. Effective devolution just over the border is due to victory at the ballot box and the mass participation of 84% of Scottish people in their independence referendum. The North East suffers from Labour Party hegemony, but it isn’t owned by it, nor does our region belong to rich individuals or any group of wealthy, influential people. It’s the people of North East England who matter and when we resist envying the people of Scotland and learn from them, when we assert our democratic rights and demand to make the big decisions ourselves, using our own fair share of the resources of this rich country, that’s when we’ll succeed. Let’s get up off our knees. Come and join us in the North East Party. Let’s help North East England win. The North East Party The North East Party (NEP) is a registered political party formed in 2014. We have members across North East England from Berwick to Darlington and Redcar. NEP is a democratic organisation accountable to its members via monthly meetings open to all and at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) which elects its officers and Executive Committee (EC). The EC meets monthly and reports to each members meeting. NEP has a developing branch structure. All branches are entitled to be represented on the EC. We currently have branches in Easington, Tees Valley and Newcastle upon Tyne and are seeking to establish them in Northumberland, Sunderland and everywhere else in the region. There are currently ten NEP Councillors on Peterlee Town Council , one NEP Town Councillor on Horden Parish Council and one NEP Councillor on Shotton Parish Council . At the General Election May 2015 we stood candidates in the following four constituencies : - Newcastle North, Easington, Stockton North, Redcar winning 2138 votes between them. NEP is currently applying to join the European Free Alliance (EFA), a European network of regional political parties which share democratic and regionalist principles. Aims NEP stands up for the best interests of the people of North East England. We want everyone who lives here to enjoy the full benefits and opportunities of a prosperous society, with world class services as part of a global community. We believe that everyone in North East England has the right to participate democratically in developing a better future for their community and our region. The North East has a fine history based on hard work, innovation, culture and entrepreneurial skills and we are determined to enable our region to flourish again. NEP is proud of the UK and stands candidates for Parliament in order to pursue the best interests of our country and our region. We believe that Parliament must continue to have reserved powers in respect of fair taxation, fair distribution of resources, foreign policy, international development, immigration, defence and strategic financial issues. On the other hand we consider that all other decisions relating to Health, Welfare, Transport, Planning, Education, Training, Energy and Economic Development need to be taken here in North East England by those who are directly accountable to the people of North East England. NEP wants to sweep away the outdated and inefficient structures of local government and integrate public services under a small, lean and powerful regional government subject to a referendum of all the people of North East England. At local level we want to energise parish, town and neighbourhood councils with new powers to assess the needs of their communities and plan for their future with new rights of equal access to power, wealth and opportunity and new avenues for advocacy for world class services. North East Party Principles Our principles have evolved from discussion and debate since our inception at a public meeting in November 2013 and take considerable inspiration from the ‘Nolan principles’ of public life and the ‘Martin Bell’ principles of political representation . 1. Abide wholeheartedly by the spirit and letter of the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by Lord Nolan in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership. 2. Be guided by considered evidence, our real world experience and expertise, our constituencies and our consciences. 3. Be free from the control of any Party Whip but respect the democratically agreed policies and principles of the North East Party. 4. Be non-discriminatory, ethical and committed to pluralism. 5. Make decisions transparently and openly at every stage and level of the political process, enabling people to see how decisions are made and the evidence on which they are based. 6. Listen to people, consulting our communities constantly and innovatively. 7. Treat political opponents with due courtesy, challenging them when we believe they are wrong, and agreeing with them when we believe they are right. 8. Resist abuses of power and patronage and promote democracy at every level. 9. Claim expenses, salaries and compensation openly so the public can judge the value for money of our activities. Combined Authorities and Elected Mayors It is clearly sensible for local authorities to come together to share the management of services, to reduce bureaucracy, inefficiency and expense. However the North East Party deplores the way that both Labour Local Authorities and Conservative Government have colluded to impose a second rate form of governance on our region. It is an undemocratic disgrace that the people of a region which voted decisively against a Labour Government’s inadequate offering in 2004 have not had the opportunity to vote on the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ of 2016. It is completely unacceptable that local authority leaders and unelected business elites have been able to abrogate power to themselves, that our region has been arbitrarily divided in two and that the people of North East England are denied the rights, powers and resources made available to our fellow UK citizens in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The one democratic element in what is being imposed is the opportunity to vote for two elected mayors in the North East Combined Authority and Tees Valley areas respectively. NEP are very well aware that the deposit required for the elections to be held in May 2017 is likely to be so large that it will discriminate against small parties such as ourselves.
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